PERFECT

Hi again everyone! Sorry for ending the last chapter like that. I hope this clears some things up. This is the last chapter, and I hope you all like it! Thanks so much for reading and Reviewing!

Harry Potter isn't mine

My heart started to race, and my head began pounding. I had to get back. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Remus and Sirius were supposed to be safe, not taken in by the Ministry. This was all wrong, and it was my fault. I had to do something to fix it!

I tried to get up and figure out where I was, but I couldn't. My head was pounding so much that I could feel it in my ears. As the initial adrenaline began to subside, I could feel the soreness that dominated my entire body. My chest felt heavy, preventing me from drawing a deep breath, and my arms and legs felt like they had been torn from my body. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move.

My head gradually started to clear, and I became aware that I was lying in a bed, its hard lumps digging painfully into my already sore back.

Suddenly, voices sounded to my right. "She should be alright," a woman started. "The Healing Charms should take effect any moment, and I expect she'll wake up soon. Just don't tell her anything that could upset her too much; we don't want her getting overly excited just yet," she continued.

"Thank you," a familiar gruff voice answered before I heard the light tapping of the woman's footsteps echo down the hall. My head began spinning yet again. This was so familiar, like I'd been here before.

After a few moments, the same rough voice spoke again, "I have to get back. There's a meeting soon, and I have to give an update. You'll stay here?"
"Yeah, but what if she wakes up?" a familiar squeaky man's voice asked.

"If she wakes up, you let us know and make sure she's alright," the first man responded impatiently.

Someone shifted uncomfortably before the second man spoke, this time so quietly I could barely make out his question, "But what'll I tell her about him?"

Then it hit me. I was in the hospital, and it was several days after the battle, several days later than I had expected—several days too late to save Remus. I felt hot tears begin to form in my eyes. I was too late. Snape had given me two simple instructions, focus on the date and don't get distracted, and I couldn't do it. Now, I had forfeited Remus' life because of my mistake.

I didn't hear the rest of what the two men said, but I knew that it was just me and the squeaky one now, for the other man had left moments ago. Tears started to stream down my face. I was too late.

"Tonks?" the man's voice prodded. "Tonks, are you alright?" he asked worriedly. "It's okay," he insisted. "Everyone's fine. You're going to be just fine."

My eyes started to flutter open, and I became overwhelmed by the light, causing still more tears to flood down my cheeks.

"It's okay," the man, who I could now make out as Dedalus, reassured. "Everything's okay."

I couldn't respond. All I knew was that I was too late, and Remus was now gone because of my mistakes. I had gone back in time for nothing—nothing had changed. We were still at war. We were still fighting. And Remus was still dead. My time in 1981 was all for nothing.

I felt a sob escape my chest, and I could sense that Dedalus was beginning to grow flustered at the sight of my hysterics. "It's alright," he repeated, rushed. He looked around desperately for some help.

Just then, a third man entered the room, but I couldn't make out who it was. All I could hear was him asking in an irritated voice, "Dedalus, what'd you do?"

That voice. It was so warm, so beautifully familiar. It was a voice I thought that I had lost forever, a voice that finally assured me that everything really was all right.

He stepped into the room, and I took in the sight of the patched robes and graying hair around his face. He held two cups of coffee in his hands, which he promptly set down on the bedside table before rushing over to me. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked worriedly into my tear-stained face.

I felt my breath choke in my chest. It really was him. He looked older now; his face was lined and scarred, and his sandy brown hair now had a considerable amount of gray. His body seemed more tired, and he slouched forward ever so slightly when he walked. His robes were more patched, and deep lines were worn into his forehead.

The one thing that had not changed a bit, however, was his bright blue eyes. Despite his age, they still had that mischievous sparkle in them—a sparkle that revealed the strength of the fighter in him.

I was so in shock, all I could make out was a strangled, "Remus?"

He reached up and gently swept my hair from my eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked soothingly.

"How…?" I broke off.

Remus gave me a puzzled look. "What?"

"But—" I hesitated, "you…you were dead."

He gazed at me quizzically for a moment before chuckling heartily. I gave him a puzzled look and tried to sit up on the bed.

"No," he explained, helping me lean against the head of the bed, "and I have you to thank."

When I gave him yet another questioning look, he continued, "Don't you remember that Christmas when you told me?"

I thought for a moment, before everything came back. He was right. I had told him everything just weeks before I'd gone back. He'd remembered the warning and stayed away, and now, everything was perfect again.

I reached out and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him as close as my still achy body would allow. Remus looked surprised at first, but he hugged me back. We held each other close, and I never wanted to let him go.

It didn't matter that there was still a war raging, nor did it matter that Dedalus was looking to the both of us as though we were a couple of wrackspurts. All that mattered was that the man next to me was alive and well, and we were together again.

Everything was perfect.

Well there you have it. I hope you enjoyed the story! Thank you all so much to everyone who read, reviewed, added it to their favorites, or followed it! You all made writing this so much fun!

Be sure to check out the sequel. It's called The Thing with Feathers, and it focuses on what happens to Remus from the time Tonks leaves through the end of this story when Tonks wakes up. The first chapters are up, and you can find it under my profile! I hope you'll like it :)

Thanks again!